Point blanks Red Devils in opener, 3-0

The Point Pleasant boys soccer program dominated from start to finish on Saturday afternoon while posting a 3-0 shutout victory over visiting Ravenswood in a non-conference match at Ohio Valley Bank Track and Field in Mason County.

The host Black Knights (1-0) produced twice as many shot attempts as the Red Devils (0-1) with a 14-7 overall edge, with most of those attempts coming during a first half that saw PPHS establish a 2-0 halftime cushion.

Both teams remained scoreless midway through the first half, but the Black Knights hit paydirt in the 21st minute as Alex Carlisle booted a long ball into Adam Veroski — who then gained control of the ball in the middle of a defensive pile.

Veroski tapped the ball out to Cole Walker, who then dribbled around the RHS keeper and found the back of an open net for an early 1-0 cushion.

Veroski received another long ball from Carlisle in the 32nd minute, but this time Veroski controlled the pass and took his own shot — which led to a goal and a 2-0 edge headed into the break.

Veroski completed the scoring in the 46th minute after taking a through ball in stride up the middle before launching a shot from 20 yards out. The attempt found the back of the net to give Point Pleasant a 3-0 lead.

From there, both teams simply focused on fundamentals as the clock gradually whittled down — giving PPHS keeper Zach Rediger his first career shutout with the 3-0 triumph.

The Black Knights were whistled for 20 of the 28 fouls in the contest, with the Red Devils also accumulating five of the seven corner kicks.

Afterwards, PPHS coach Chip Wood admitted that he liked what he witnessed.

“I really felt that we dominated possession of the ball and that we played physical, fast and moved the ball well,” Wood said. “It was a very clinical-type win because we adjusted a little tactically and found success. We let Ravenswood control a little kick ball segment of the game in second half, but finally got things settled and killed the game off in the last 10 minutes with solid possession. It’s a good start to the season and what we are hoping to accomplish.”

Point Pleasant returns to action at 7 p.m. Tuesday when it hosts Teays Valley Christian.